Batman: The Black Mirror HardcoverReview

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The definitive Batman comic for the 21st century. Yup, we said it.

By Joey Esposito

If you follow IGN Comics regularly, then you know how much we praised the run of Scott Snyder, Jock and Francesco Francavilla on Detective Comics. From start to finish, the team created an eerie and definitive story for not only Dick Grayson's stint as Batman, but for Gotham City and Jim Gordon as well. Birthed out of a love for the seminal Batman story Year One, Snyder forms a creeping epic that will no doubt be referenced as a modern classic in much the same way as its inspiration or Batman: The Long Halloween. By all accounts, from writing to art, Black Mirror is a perfect 10 in storytelling, no doubt about it. While some unfortunate production issues on the hardcover keep the collection from being flawless, this is still a must-own piece of Dark Knight history.

For the uninitiated, Black Mirror collects Detective Comics #871-881, which spans story arcs like the titular "Black Mirror," "Skeleton Cases," and "Hungry City." Though they are technically separate entities, collecting them under one roof, so to speak, was the right decision. The story that Snyder weaves is an increasingly tied together saga of how Gotham corrupts its heroes, formfitting its challenges to the characters that experience them. Though they start separately, the tale of Dick Grayson assimilating to the new villains awaiting him on the streets of Gotham and Gordon's past coming back to haunt him eventually tie together in a crescendo of horrific beauty, playing on the expectations of the reader while expanding the Bat-mythos wide open in both love letter and forward-thinking fashion.

Jock and Francesco Francavilla tag team the art of the story, with Jock handling the Batman-centric chapters and Francavilla the Gordon installments. The two artists feature vastly different styles, yet the book gels, due in part to how appropriate each style is for the installments they are drawing. Jock's rigid, angular style is the perfect complement for exploring the ominous, bizarre streets of Gotham as it warps in an attempt to swallow Dick Grayson whole. The elements of horror are exacerbated by Jock's work, yet it maintains the primary superhero comic sensibilities that you'd expect from a Batman book.

Meanwhile, Francavilla's work on the Gordon chapters is more refined with a heavy focus on colors and atmosphere. It's simpler, in a way that's fitting to the very human nature of Gordon's plight: dealing with the return of his estranged son. Because of Francavilla's approach, the creep-factor is turned up to eleven, assisting Snyder's intentionally ambiguous portrayal of James Jr. in being the most permeating factor of the book.

There is a downside to the collection, however, but they stem entirely from some production issues. They're minor, but worth pointing out. There are some double page spreads that suffer from the binding of the book, with the inner most portions of the page becoming obscured and thus, some beautiful artwork sullied. It happens often in collections, but in the case of Black Mirror, it's more often than I'd like. Especially with the heavy focus on visual storytelling, it's an unfortunate detriment to the flow of the incredibly engrossing story at hand. In addition, there's one occasion that puts what should be a page-turn reveal on the right side, spoiling the splash page early. Again, this is the kind of thing that is sometimes unavoidable in a collection this massive, but that doesn't mean it should go unmentioned.

Aside from the truly phenomenal comic itself, The Black Mirror hardcover includes plenty of worthwhile content for those that collected the story in its initial run. In fact, if you enjoyed the run as much as we at IGN Comics did, you'll be thirsting for the back matter of this book. It includes tons of early character designs, page layouts, and cover sketches from Jock and Francavilla, including some informative commentary about particular pieces and the evolution of the James Jr. design. The covers to the issues themselves are placed before their respective chapters in the collection, so those are represented as well.

The real treat, though, is Snyder's script from the first chapter of "Skeleton Cases," which was originally the back-up tale in Detective Comics #871. It's educational to see Snyder's approach to scripting, but more impressively, how well-planned this story is. The script includes notes to Francavilla that includes plot points featured in the final issue of their run. It's an insightful look into the creation of comics and the story that Snyder set out to tell – and subsequently succeeded with flying colors.

Though his run as Batman is over, The Black Mirror will remain the defining chapter of Dick Grayson's stint as the Dark Knight, eclipsing even Grant Morrison's run on Batman and Robin. Perhaps more importantly is the story's contributions to Jim Gordon and Gotham City itself – two of DC's most underappreciated characters – which Snyder and company give a defining appearance not seen in such stunning display since Batman: Year One. By all accounts, The Black Mirror is the Batman story to beat for the next generation of superhero comics.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter, or find him on MyIGN. You may or may not discover a profound number of cat pictures.